News Release

Following on the momentum and success of the initiatives introduced last academic year to enhance the traditional first-year experience,
the Southwestern faculty has adopted several exciting new curricular
innovations for the upper division.

Three new programs will be integrated into the curriculum commencing with the Fall 2008 semester: a Capstone Course, a January Intersession, and a Floating Mini-Term.
The programs are designed to encourage student engagement during the
second, third, and (where applicable) fourth years of study, respond to
issues identified through the Law School Survey of Student Engagement (LSSSE),
and extend the momentum created by Southwestern's new first-year
curricular reforms. The latter have been well received by students and
commended by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Dean Bryant Garth said, "This series of upper level curricular initiatives will confirm the recognition we already received from the Carnegie Endowment as one of the few law schools truly embracing the challenge of developing a curriculum that incorporates theory, practice and integration into the profession."

January Intersession

The
January Intersession consists of a one-week term held before the
regular Spring Semester begins and will feature a menu of about a dozen new and innovative courses that are more suited to short-term, intensive treatment than to a traditional semester. Students have the opportunity to
enroll in one or two-unit courses focusing on a discrete topic with a
skills or practice focus. The classes meet about three to four
hours a day for the five days and most are graded on the
performance of skills or something other than a final exam. Enrollment in the January Intersession is limited to upper division Day and Evening students and second year SCALE students. While it is mandatory for SCALE II students, it is discretionary (rather than mandatory) for all other upper division students. Invitations to teach these special short courses are being directed to potential
visitors, adjuncts, interested full-time faculty, and other experts in
the field who otherwise might not be available for a full semester.

According to Associate Dean Christopher Cameron, "The creation of this new January Intersession is one of our most exciting curricular reforms. We are pleased to be able to respond to students' wishes, as expressed in the LSSSE survey, for greater engagement after the first year. We are looking forward to the inaugural Intersession, which will run January 5-9, 2009."

Among the January Intersession courses approved by the faculty are:

The Art of Persuasion

Business Concepts for Liberal Arts Majors

Criminal Law in Action

Selected Problems in Evidence (Evidence Lab)

Fashion Law

Legal Spanish for International Practice

Media Litigation

Prosecution and Defense of Domestic Violence Cases

Reproductive Technologies and the Law

VITA Income Tax Course

Capstone Courses

Capstone
Courses provide the opportunity for advanced study, with special
emphasis on teaching the Carnegie Foundation Report principles of
theory to practice and professionalism. A given Capstone could be
interdisciplinary, cover multiple subjects, and be team-taught.
Students might opt to enroll in such a course during their final
semester or year of study, after having completed the applicable
prerequisites. Enrollment is limited to ensure individual
attention, as well as sufficient time and resources for simulations -
including but not limited to advocacy, alternative dispute resolution,
and transactional skills. Evaluation is based on skills versus an
exam. Students in all programs - Day, PLEAS, Evening, and SCALE - are eligible to take Capstones. These courses are taught primarily
by full-time faculty, in some cases team-teaching with practitioners
serving in the capacity of adjunct or visiting professors, or perhaps
as guest speakers.

A three-unit Mass Tort Litigation course will be offered as a Capstone course. Other examples of pending Capstone courses are Advanced Entertainment Practice, Real Estate Transactions, and Working Knowledge: The Theory and Practice of Employment Law.

Floating Mini-Term

The
Floating Mini-Term concept is somewhere in between the January
Intersession and Capstone Courses. A course offered on a Floating
Mini-Term basis will treat a traditional subject, but during a period
of three to seven weeks, rather than a traditional 14- or 15-week
semester. The precise length will vary, depending on curricular
interest, the availability of the anticipated professor, and the nature
of the subject. It is anticipated that the Mini-Term program will
enable Southwestern to enlist distinguished guest faculty from around
the country or even internationally to teach specialized courses.

Initial Mini-Term offerings approved thus far for Spring 2009 include an 8-week course on Islamic Law, and a 4-week course on European Union: Regulatory Law.